Chic Schleppers

The elusive laptop bag that doesn't say "I'm a laptop bag"

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Good morning! This week is not about strictly functional bags. Let’s just start there. It’s about what to do when you want a beautiful bag that feels like it matches the place you are in your career (literally and mentally), but it also needs to carry quite a bit. When many clients come to me, they’re ready to level up their work bag, which makes sense given the nature of when in a career someone might want an executive stylist. But the category resonates beyond, since everyone has places to go these days and work always seems to be tagging along.

Now, I am a lover of beautiful things. Beautiful design. The ‘function first’ category of laptop bags makes me die a little inside. I feel the same about diaper bags…for another time. There just has to be a way to carry work’s essentials without throwing off an otherwise perfectly stylish outfit.

So, I’ve spent a few months sleuthing. Slinging them over my shoulder (and coats), analyzing interior pockets, thinking hard on what I would truly spend on, and where the value is (sometimes that’s physical, and sometimes emotional, even for laptop bags).

The only thing NOT included here are zip top bags (except for one stellar stand out). In general, they just feel less effortless and elegant to me. I know, if you’re going on an airplane, that’s not great. And some people live by the zip. So I will do another post, another day about zip top totes (and another on backpacks). But until then, these are the five I feel the strongest about from a style perspective first, at this moment. The five that make the commute just as stylish as the destination.